Canopy Strategies

Do You Have Competing Priorities? Earlier this week, in the group coaching session I’m part of, I shared that I hadn’t made progress on the items I took last week. I knew many competing priorities were coming - a training session, move prep, speaking at a conference, closing, moving, and unpacking. Adding something new might not happen, but I was optimistic that I would have knocked it out last week because it was just about writing an email and reaching out to ~10 people. But it didn’t happen. You can read the rest of the story in this week's blog post. #priorities #leadership #enduranceleadership https://lnkd.in/euQYPKjp

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You’ve got big plans for 2025 If you’re a small organization starting to map out your growth for 2025, your talent plan is a key area to focus on. We all know (but sometimes forget) that our organizations can only grow through the impact of our people. We need the right people in the right roles, doing the right work, and…wanting to be there to do amazing work. If you’re starting to plan for next year, let’s do a strategy session to ensure you put the talent plans in place for success. The comments include links to schedule. #ceos #founder #entrepreneur #planning

Recipe Disaster? My husband and I were in Belgium last weekend, and one of our activities was a Beer and Waffles workshop because those are two Belgian classics all in one activity. We tasted several Belgian beers to determine which one we wanted to use as part of our waffle batter, chose the Trappist-style one, and got down to work following the recipe provided. We were doing great until it was time to fold in the egg whites. Something didn’t feel right when I folded them in…and the light bulb went off when I saw everyone else pull out their electric mixers and start beating the egg whites... You can read the rest of the story and the leadership lesson here: https://lnkd.in/eckbzvKR To receive these Saturday blog messages along with quotes for reflection and the podcast & article recommendations from the week, you can sign up with this newsletter link. https://lnkd.in/eQBFujyz

Embracing the Athlete You Are I know we all don’t think about ourselves as athletes. Even though I compete in running races, I often don’t consider myself one either because my mindset is that the true athletes are those who are the ones at the big races competing to win. But, as leaders, I see all of us as athletes. We are out there performing every day. We can choose how well we perform as that leader/athlete. We can set ourselves up for success by setting intentions, building skills, creating plans and strategies, getting support, focusing on our well-being, and shifting directions when things change OR… We can get so focused on meetings, deliverables, and managing people and projects that we don’t actually lead effectively, even if we think we are. If we take the lessons from endurance athletes, we remember to ✔️ Have a plan that is set up for progress but that’s sustainable ✔️Build in time for rest ✔️Tap into support networks ✔️Visualize success and what to do when things fail ✔️Show up and do our best every day, even when we don’t want to If we want to lead teams and organizations well, it starts with how we lead ourselves. What would it look like if you started to think like an athlete related to your leadership role? What do you want to do differently? Let’s focus together on planning & preparation, training, and recovery as we head into the next week. #leadership #ceos #athlete #endurance

Less But Better Are you a more is better person? Are you struggling making the impact you want? Here are this week's thoughts after my re-read of Essentialism. I'm shooting for less but better. https://lnkd.in/ezAxHxau #essentialism #leaders #leadership #priorities

Yes, you do need a compensation philosophy If you’re the founder or CEO of a small organization, you may wonder if you need to have a compensation and rewards philosophy. The answer is a strong YES, but it doesn’t need to be complex. Starting out, it might be very basic like these ideas: 💰 We pay a base salary, and review salaries annually. 💰 Our salaries are average in the market, but we offer great benefits with low employee premiums. 💰 We offer spot bonuses when people accomplish a specific goal. 💰 For sales professionals, we pay a low, but reasonable base pay and have an incentive plan based on originating and/or closing sales. If you haven’t thought through your philosophy, you can’t set expectations (or make relevant offers) for candidates. Take 5 minutes and assess what your philosophy is today and assess if people understand it. This is a key component of your people strategy for attracting and retaining people. #ceos #founder #compensation Unsplash+ In collaboration with Allison Saeng _____________________ 📝 Are you ready to Fall into Success? I’m offering a small-group roundtable session on September 10th to tackle the organizational challenges weighing you as you head into Q4. Sign up for a hands-on discussion with a small group of peers. You can register here: https://lnkd.in/eDtKPkYg 📝 Are you registered for the free September 24-26th Build Exceptional Leadership to Fuel Growth & Drive Impact Workshop Series. If not, register here so you don't miss out. https://lnkd.in/esKRA6jB

Weekend Quote Reflections As those of us in the US and Canada celebrate our Labor/Labour Day holiday weekend, I thought these song lyrics were a powerful reminder. What are the things we think we need right now that are preventing us from enjoying this beautiful day? For today, let them go and celebrate this beautiful day.

The power of the undertow A few weeks ago, storms at sea and wind conditions provided an interesting situation on the beach. You’d get into the water in one place and before you knew it, you were down the beach, quite a ways from where you started. You didn’t even realize you were getting off track from where you wanted to be. The current was just pulling you along. So often, this happens in organizations as well. ✍🏻You’ve outlined your organizational values and the culture you want. ✍🏻You outline annual goals and priorities, and people start working toward them. But all the while, there’s an underlying current that may be pulling people away from the preferred ways of working and collaborating. These are the tensions that arise when ➡️ conflict isn’t addressed, ➡️ expectations for success aren’t clearly defined and understood, ➡️ change isn’t navigated well, or ➡️ bad behavior is allowed without recourse. It takes a lot of effort, everyone paddling in the same direction, for the current not to pull people away from where you want them to be. Do you have the leadership infrastructure in place to do this well? #leadership #ceos #hrleadership #founder 🙋🏻♀️ I am Melissa Carson. 🤝 I help growth-stage CEOs and business owners without strategic HR partners who suspect they don't have the right people in the right seats or that their people strategies aren't working well enough to drive engagement, retention, and business performance. I ensure they have the right talent, teams led by strong leadership, and productive team dynamics. ♟️Coach for HR leaders wanting to make a greater impact ⭐️ Coach for leaders who want more, better, or different from their careers Like this post and want more? ➕Ring the 🔔 on my profile to connect or follow me for daily content _____________________ 📝 Are you ready to Fall into Success? I’m offering a small-group roundtable session on September 10th to tackle the organizational challenges weighing you as you head into Q4. Sign up for a hands-on discussion with a small group of peers. You can register here: https://lnkd.in/eDtKPkYg 📝 Are you registered for the free September 24-26th Build Exceptional Leadership to Fuel Growth & Drive Impact Workshop Series. If not, register here so you don't miss out. https://lnkd.in/esKRA6jB

But I don't wear pink... When I saw that P!NK was coming to perform in the Philadelphia area, I knew I wanted to see her, and that my sister would be the best partner in crime. Not necessarily because we hang out singing P!NK songs, but I knew her energy would be compelling for both of us. My sister booked our seats, our hotel, and our logistics…she’s the one who is the event organizer in our family. A few days before the concert, she dropped the information that, generally, people where pink at the concert. That shouldn’t have surprised me, but my plan was to wear a black top that I love and jean shorts. I had never contemplated the idea of wearing something pink. Read the full newsletter article to see how my clothing decision ties to how we lead ourselves. https://lnkd.in/ecisejGQ #leadership #leaders #smallbusiness